Thursday, May 25, 2017

EDITORS CHALLENGED

The Cortland Democrat, Friday, March 23,
1894.

Lack of Discrimination.

The
editors of the Cortland Daily Standard are at present greatly horrified
and infact seem to be all broken up over aneditorial article
that appeared in last week'sDEMOCRAT. The article to which they take exception, simply suggested that
the republican legislature should appoint acommittee to investigate the
cause of deathof the woman who died in Ithaca by inhalingchlorine
gas, administered by someperson unknown, while they were investigatingthe cause of death in the Troy case. The editorial also stated that in the sight of the
law, the Ithaca crime was of the gravest nature, because the gas was undoubtedly
administered with premeditation and with a full knowledge of the probable results,
while the killing of Robert Ross in Troy was done under the sudden impulse of
the moment and when great excitement prevailed.

The Standard
says that the article manifests a "lack of discrimination, mental
obliquity or absence of moral sense." It denies that the Cornell students
knew what the effect of chlorine gas was likely to result in, that no one save
the DEMOCRAT has yet charged "Thatthe foolish and fatal practical joke which was undertaken at
Ithaca was entered upon with any murderous intention, or with any idea of the
possibility of such a result as followed." It is barely possible that the
sophomores of Cornell will prefer to plead guilty to the Standard's indictment
against them for being fools rather than take the chances of the result of a
trial on the graver charge. If they did not know what effect the inhalation of
the deadly chlorine gas was likely to have on the human system, they have a
right to plead non compos mentes, and instead of being sent to college,
they should be installed as members of some backwoods district school, with the
privilege of occupying the dunce block for an indefinite period. But such a
claim is pure nonsense and would fail to find favor in any court.

The Penal
code of the state of New York defines murder in the first degree to be the
killing of a human being when committed either "From a deliberate and
premeditated design to effect the death of the person killed or, of another, or
by an act imminently dangerous to others, and evincing a depraved mind,
regardlessof human life, although without a premeditated design to
effect the death of any individual; or without a design to effectdeath,
by a person engaged in the commissionof, or in an attempt to commit afelony, either upon or affecting the personkilled or otherwise."

Although
the gas may not have been, and probably was not administered with a premeditated
design to affect the death of anyindividual, yet it was an act, as
the result plainly shows, imminently dangerous toothers and
resulted in killing a human being. Therefore according to the laws of the
state, the crime of murder in the firstdegree was committed.

The Penal
Code then defines murder in the second degree as follows:

"Such
killing of a human being is murder in the second degree, when committed with a
design to effect [sic] the death of the person killed, or of another, but without
deliberation and premeditation."

Murder in the second degree is undoubtedly the
highest crime of which [Bat] McShea or any other person could be convicted in the
killing of Robert Ross, because no one, we believe, has yet charged that the
party who did the shooting went to the place where he was killed, for the
especial purpose of killing him or any one else. The code defines the
punishment for murder in the first degree to be death, and in the second
degree "by imprisonment for the offender's natural life." So that
when the DEMOCRAT said that the Ithaca crime was of the gravest nature in the
sight of the law, it was correct and if the editors of the Standard had
kept quiet, they would not have exposed their "lack of discrimination or
mental obliquity."

The DEMOCRAT is as unalterably opposed to violence
and crime as its neighbor and believes that criminals should be prosecuted to
the full extent of the law. It does not believe that the poor and ignorant should
be made to pay the full penalty for their crimes while the educated, wealthy and
respectable—so called—are allowed to go free. If either class has a right to be
dealt with gently, it is the poor and uneducated, who have not the
opportunities to know the law, that is given to the pampered few.

The charge, that Governor Flower "is compelled
to assent to the employment of attorneys who will see that justice is done,"
is wicked in the extreme. If the writer of that charge was not troubled with
"mental obliquity" and a total absence of "moral sense," he
would know that the Governor took the initiatory steps looking to the punishment
of those who killed Robert Ross in Troy. He immediately summoned the District
Attorney and notified him that he should hold him responsible for a miscarriage
of justice. He also appointed two able lawyers of Troy to assist him in
prosecuting the offenders. Gov. Flower will always be found on the side of law
and order as he is in this case. The parties who killed Ross should be
prosecuted to the full extent of the law and they will be, because the
prosecution is in the hands of competent and willingdemocrats. Whether the
guilty parties at Cornell will be punished at all, or not, remains to be seen.

PAGE
FOUR—EDITORIALS.

◘The coroner's jury that has been investigating
the Troy murder case, have returned a verdict whereby they find that Bartholomew
McShea shot and killed Robert Ross.

◘The committee of the State Board of Charities,
appointed to investigate charges of "cruel, brutal, excessive, degrading
and unusual punishment of the inmates" of the Elmira Reformatory by Supt.
Z. R. Brockway, have reported that they find the charges sustained. It is
understood that the managers of the institution will endeavor to prevent the
adoption of the report by the legislature.

◘
On this page we print a criticism on Judge
Forbes' charge to the Ithaca grand jury by Prof. Chas. A. Collin, professor of
law of Cornell University. It will be seen that he takes the same view of the crime
committed at Ithaca, that the DEMOCRAT did in its article published last week and
which was fortunate enough to be criticised [sic] by the Cortland Standard. Prof.
Collin is recognized as one of the ablest judges of law in the state.

CRITICISED
JUDGE FORBES.

Prof.
Collin of the Cornell Law School Differs with the Judge Regarding the Degree of
the Crime Committed.

ITHACA, March 19.—Contrary to general expectation
there were no further remarks made by Judge Forbes at the opening of court this
morning in relation to his recent charge to the grand jury, his submission of
the editorial upon the court to the Tompkins county bar and their failure to
take action in the matter.

The latest development in this matter is the
address of Professor Collin, of theCornell law school, to the junior
class this morning. Prof. Collin took issue with Judge
Forbes' statement of the degree of crime that had been committed, quoting a
large number of cases, which he claimed showed conclusively that murder in the first
degree had been committed. He also questioned the right of any judge to address
a jury as to the degree of crime committed before any evidence had been submitted
to them.

He took the ground that if justice in this
case should miscarry, it would be pertinent for the Legislature to appoint a committee
to probe the whole matter to the bottom, and while doing so he stated that it
would also be pertinent for them to inquire as to whether the judge had been
influenced to make the charge he did by any of the friends or relatives of the parties
suspected of this complicity in the chlorine matter.

The matter was discussed in all its phases
by the law students and the judge was quite severely handled before the session
of the class was concluded.

ITHACA, March 19. The Tompkins county grand
jury reconvened at 10 o'clock this morning and are now considering the evidence
which the district attorney has against the several students in the Cornell banquet
poisoning case. Before the judge's charge it was considered almost certain that
they would not hand in an indictment in this matter, but this charge and
cartooning and editorials, which have followed it have had such an effect upon
the grand jury that an indictment against at least one or more of the suspected
students is believed to be inevitable.

FATAL ACCIDENT.

John Dobbins Falls Down Stairs at the
Cortland Wagon Co.'s Works and Receives Injuries that Prove Fatal.

Last Tuesday morning John
Dobbins commenced work in the Cortland Wagon Co.'s shops in this village and a
few moments later met with an accident that cost him his life. He started to
carry a bundle of carriage top bows from the kiln room up stairs [sic] to the
wood shop, and when near the top of the stairs fell to the bottom. Superintendent
Hugh Duffey met him in the kiln room as he was going out with his bundle and a
moment later heard a crash and on going to the foot of the stairs to ascertain
the cause, found Dobbins with his head on the floor and his feet on the stairs
tangled in the bows. Mr. Duffey placed him in a more comfortable position and
sent for Dr. A. J. White. Dobbins was carried to his home at 6 Venette-st., in Mr.
Duffey's carriage. He vomited blood and blood came from his ears. The doctor found
the base of the skull fractured. Dobbins died soon after 4 o'clock the same day.
He was 59 years of age and lived with his daughters here. He resided in Homer for
many years and was an honest, industrious man.

Our school will close Friday
and an exhibition will be held on that evening in Woodward's hall, at which there will be theatrical drills by the
pupils.

Frank Wescott, who was made
glad by the birth of a daughter Sunday, wasmade sad by the death of Dr.
H. Wescott, his uncle, of Norwich, Monday.

Mrs. O. D. Patrick has
organized a class in oil-painting, and Mrs. Watkins, of Cortland, as teacher,
met with the members for the first lesson last Saturday.

Dr. C. H. Webster returned from
Watertown, Tuesday, where he had been to be present at the initiation of
members into the degree of the 'Mystic Shrine"' of masonry. Gov. Roswell
P. Flower, Senator Cogshall and Congressman Rockwell were among the 47 who took
the degree.

Thursday morning between three
and four o'clock an alarm of fire was given and the dwelling house across the
road from Wm. Baldwin's hotel, and known as the Col. Pierce house, was found
to be on fire. The fire, when discovered, had such headway as to be beyond
control, and all attention was directed toward removing things from the
building. A large part of the bedding, carpets and furniture of Mrs. Peters and
Miss Belden, who were occupying the house, were got out. Very fortunate for Win.
Baldwin and Messrs. Hilton & Patrick, there was little wind and rain had
fallen about midnight, otherwise, the wind being from the north, one or the
other of the parties might have suffered loss. The flames broke through the
roof near the center chimney, but at present no one is able to tell much about
the origin or cause of the fire. The building burned was one of the old landmarks
of the town. We cannot learn who erected it. In 1811 and before the erection of
the building there was a small store on the site and a Mr. Smith sold goods
there. This may have been the store first in this place and started by Stephen
Hedges. At that time the road from Cheningo passed by this store and crossed the
creek to the north, there being no road on the west of this building on the
south side of the creek until many years after, owing to the swampy natures of
the soil. Dr. Blanchard once owned and lived in the burned house, as did also
Drs. Smith, Cook and Nelson.

CINCINNATUS.

Floyd Miner of Cortland is a
guest at B. R. Cornings.

Born—To Mr. and Mrs. Chas.
Harrington, March 12, a son.

The lower village school began
Monday with Miss Minnie Whitby as teacher.

D. E. Youngs of Cortland spent
a part of the past week with his parents here.

Mrs. A. O. Tennent of Willett
visited at Mrs. Ann Fish's a part of last week.

The interior of the
Cincinnatus House is being repainted, papered and otherwise repaired.

James Harvey of West Hill died
last Thursday, aged 77 years. The funeral was held Sunday, Rev. E. Rogers
officiating.

Mrs. C. C. Soule died last
week, Wednesday, at the residence of her daughter Mrs. J. Q. Perry, aged 70
years, The remains were taken to Georgetown Saturday for burial.

J. M. Lotridge, of the firm of
Nichols & Lotridge is taking a trip through the southern part of the state
this week, taking orders for maple sugar.

Owen's Crystal Museum-Glass
working, spinning and blowing is the attraction at Academy Hall this week. It
is an interesting and instructive entertainment and well worth attending.
Presents are given to the audience each evening.

SCOTT.

Ernest W. Childs is on the
gain, under the treatment of Dr. Dana of Cortland.

We hear that E. J. Peck and
family will move from Scott to Sempronius this spring.

Miss May Burdick has purchased
a farm horse and roadster of Chauncey B. Fairchild.

Menzo Grinnell has hired to
Ernest Clark for 6 months at $25.00 per month and board and washing.

The peeping frogs last
Saturday night made music for us for the first this spring. Their voices seemed
clear with no indications of the prevailing distemper or influenza.

We notice that of the 14 births recorded in
the last Democrat, 12 were of the female persuasion. Who is brazen faced enough
to declare his hostility to the enfranchisement of all but two of that 14!

HERE
AND THERE.

With
this issue the DEMOCRAT commences its thirty-first volume.

Burgess
the clothier has a new advertisement on our last page.

The insurance adjusters
settled the loss on the Schermerhorn building last Tuesday.

The five County Insurance Co.
have settled the loss caused by the burning of Warren Williams' house and barn
by paying him $1,175.

Hon. L. J. Fitzgerald's fine
bay colt Gene, by King Medium, 2:20, dam Halo, 2:24 1/4, by General Hancock, died a few days since. It was a very
promising youngster.

Mr. T. Shepard has purchased
the stonemill property this side of McGrawville and will change the
same into a creamery as soon as the necessary equipments can beput in.

Mr. E. W. Bates has sold the
stock of groceries in his store on Groton-ave. to Mr. E. P. Halbert, who also
owns the grocery on Grant-st. Mr. Halbert will move his stock to the Groton-ave.
store.

Any teacher of any public
school in the country towns may call upon the trustees of the school district
for an American flag and the proper means of displaying it from the
school-house, and the law compels the trustees to furnish them.

A union Easter morning prayer
meeting will be held at 6: 30 o'clock next Sunday morning, in the Presbyterian
chapel. This prayer meeting in past years has been very helpful, and a fitting
beginning of the services of the day. A most cordial invitation is extended to
all to be present and participate.

The
losses upon the dry goods and carpet stocks of G. J. Mager & Co., caused by
the recent [Schermerhorn block] fire, were satisfactorily adjusted on Tuesday afternoon
last by the several companies with whom they were insured. Their total stock on
the morning of the fire amounted to $30,107.94 and the amount of their
insurance was $26,394.00 on merchandise and $650.00 on furniture and fixtures.
As soon as the store can be repaired and cleaned, and the goods placed in
proper condition they will open for business. A timely announcement of the date
of their opening will appear in the DEMOCRAT.